We’re live from…

There must be a rule in journalism that says, “if you include a live report, it makes the story more credible/easy to relate to/accurate/etc”. Every time we watch the WB11 morning news, they always (and I really mean always here) have a reporter live at a scene of something-or-other.

Sometimes the live at the scene reports are fantastic. Like a couple days back, when the Roosevelt Island Trams (think: cable cars) stalled half-way through their journey, and police had to rescue the 68 passengers aboard (over a period of 11 hours) – their on-the-spot coverage really gave you a sense of the chaos at the scene. Great!

However, sometimes the shot is… well, not so effective. Like today for example – there’s a looming threat of a doorman strike. At midnight tonight, it’s more than likely that doormen across the city will be standing down from their posts. So to report this breaking news, Julie Chang was live on the scene, outside a rather nondescript building awning.

Or, if it’s a particularly cold day you can expect, “we’re coming to you live from the scene right now, where Julie Chang is standing on the street to show you just how many coats people are wearing”. Or when there’s something important happening in (say) China, you can be assured that they’ve secured a great broadcasting post, live from across the street from the Chinese embassy – which, at that time of the morning, is closed.

The thing that makes it so strange, is that they’re always so serious about it. Then again, that’s also what makes it so funny. Keep up the great work, WB11!